What Happens When a Woman Wins an Election? Evidence from Close Races in Brazil

57 Pages Posted: 6 Feb 2012 Last revised: 30 Aug 2015

See all articles by Fernanda Brollo

Fernanda Brollo

University of Warwick - Department of Economics

Ugo antonio Troiano

University of California, Riverside (UCR)

Date Written: August 2015

Abstract

We analyze close elections between male and female mayoral candidates in Brazilian municipalities to provide novel evidence on the role of women as policymakers. Using an objective measure of corruption based on random government audits, we find that female mayors are less likely to engage in corruption compared to male mayors. We also find that female mayors tend to hire less temporary public employees than male mayors, particularly during the electoral year, suggesting that they are less likely to engage in political patronage. Moreover, we find that female mayors have a lower reelection probability than male mayors. We interpret our findings as suggesting that, despite being more corrupt, male mayors are more likely to be reelected due to their involvement in patronage. We provide evidence that is inconsistent with some of the alternative explanations.

Keywords: gender, politics, corruption, patronage

JEL Classification: J16, P16, D72, I00, I18

Suggested Citation

Brollo, Fernanda and Troiano, Ugo antonio, What Happens When a Woman Wins an Election? Evidence from Close Races in Brazil (August 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1999067 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1999067

Fernanda Brollo

University of Warwick - Department of Economics ( email )

Gibbet Hill Rd.
Coventry, West Midlands CV4 8UW
United Kingdom

Ugo antonio Troiano (Contact Author)

University of California, Riverside (UCR) ( email )

900 University Avenue
Riverside, CA CA 92521
United States

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